Aiding Love
by Zipper Nova
Summary: Baralai overhears a group of Al Bhed talking and makes out the word help. He follows them to find something he'd rather not see.


**Name:** Aiding Love

**Author:** Zipper Nova

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** Baralai/Gippal

**Summary:** Baralai overhears a group of Al Bhed talking and makes out the word help. He follows them to find something he'd rather not see.

**Before Reading Notes:** Some attitude changes were made to get some of the story going. Eh this is also my first fic where the characters have actually gotten intimate. Like more than just a peck on the lips or something, so if it's choppy or just plain flat terrible it's cause I was nervous. ^_^'. Feel free to use albhedtranslater .com for the Al Bhed parts. :). (Edit on author's notes below will explain why this is no longer valid.)

Baralai was originally out on a short mission from Bevelle to the entrance of Macalania Woods to meet up with Yuna, Rikku and Paine and exchange a Sphere. The three women were originally going to bring the sphere to Bevelle but since Baralai was to be going out to pay Gippal a visit that day, he told the girls to meet him somewhere in between. They were the ones who selected a point closer to Bevelle than their current location of the time, which was Besaid. He tried to bargain with them to change the location and make it easier for all of them to travel an equal distance but they said they had a sphere to find in the woods and wouldn't take any other words about the situation.

So there he currently was standing, at the entrance of Macalania Woods. The three women were nowhere to be seen and Baralai's required "body guards" were getting impatient. Baralai folded his arms across his chest and looked down the path to the Thunder Plains. He sighed softly and turned to the two men behind him.

"You don't need to be here really. You can go back if you wish." Baralai said to them.

"Sir we can't leave you!" The first one exclaimed.

"We were told to stay by your side until you safely returned Bevelle!" The second one said as backup.

"But, really nothing has happened. I'm fine. I can handle myself." He said with a small reassuring smile.

"Sorry sir but, we really can't leave you." The first one replied.

Baralai sighed and turned back to the path he seemed to have memorized. It wasn't that he was getting impatient, he was rather enjoying the time he had to himself. Well sort of. He might have enjoyed it a bit more if the "body guards" weren't there. The leaders of New Yevon believed he needed to be protected on his trip, even if it was a severely short one. They acted as if he was weak, like he couldn't protect himself. They claimed it was because he was so young and knew what he was doing when it came to Yevon business. Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter he supposed.

"I wonder what could be taking them so long." Baralai thought to himself. Just then an Al Bhed ran up the path from the Thunder Plains. He was soaked from the rain and seemed frantic. There was blood on him but it didn't look like it was coming from him. Another Al Bhed was running towards him from inside the Macalania Woods.

**"NOHHA! ZI RIIT DY NICB! (HURRY! WE NEED TO HELP!)" **The one from the Thunder Plains yelled. Baralai's guards ran in front of him to protect him. Since they couldn't understand what they were saying they had to assume it was an attack. The Al Bhed from the Thunder Plains ran past Baralai's group and straight to the other Al Bhed. The second Al Bhed placed his arms on the first's shoulders while the first was busy clinging and pulling on his shirt speaking quickly.

**"Lyms tufh! Ruf pyt ec ed!? (Calm down! How bad is it!?)" **The second asked.

**"VYDYMEDEAC! VYDYMEDEAC! (FATALITIES! FATALTIES!)"** The first yelled franticly. The second looked shocked and nodded.

**"Rinno! (Hurry!)"** The two quickly ran back into the Thunder Plains without a glance towards Baralai's group.

"What was that all about?" One of the guards asked. Before any answer could be given, or even thought of, the sound of footsteps running away could be heard clearly.

"Sir!" Yelled the other guard. Baralai stopped running a little way away from them.

"They need help! Something bad is happening! You can stay if you wish but I must help them!" He yelled. He quickly began his sprint to catch up with the Al Bhed knowing full well that the guards would follow him. After all it was their job to protect him till he got back to Bevelle.

Once Baralai reached the Thunder Plains a giant machina could be seen not far away. There were bodies and pieces of machines on the ground around it. Really Baralai couldn't tell the difference but machina seemed to be the bad guys compared to machines. Baralai stopped running to take in the scene in front of him. It was terrible, like war had taken place, and he was in the middle of its continuation.

"Sir you have to get out of here!" One of his guards yelled.

"Yes, it's not safe!" The other called.

"No," Baralai said in a quiet voice. "I mustn't leave them! No matter what the race, no matter the situation, I must help the people of Spira when it is needed!" Baralai turned to his guards with a defiant look on his face. "Leave or stay it is still your option. I will tell you now if you choose to stay you will either fight or tend to the wounded!" With that being said Baralai took off toward a random body on its stomach he saw nearby. The Al Bhed were using machines to fight and he highly doubted he could do much damage with simple attacks if the Al Bhed's machines weren't doing much.

The closer Baralai got the first body the more it seemed to look familiar. When he was a few steps away, a small gasp escaped him.

"Gippal..." He whispered. He ran forward quickly and got down on his knees. "Gippal?" He asked the body. The left hand twitched and soon the head slowly rose. "Gippal!" Baralai said in relief.

"Uh," Gippal groaned in slight pain. He looked over to the voice calling his name and registered who it was. "Baralai? What the hell are you doing here!?" He asked. His voice was horse and full pain but he still managed to sound angry. He groaned in pain again as he tried to get on his hands and knees.

"Gippal don't move you're hurt badly!" Baralai warned.

"Ah! No shit!" Gippal yelled through gritted teeth. "You shouldn't be here it's too dangerous!"

"I'm here to help!"

"You can't do anything now get out of here!" Gippal yelled a lot louder. At the same time a crack of thunder sounded and lit up the scene. Baralai saw Gippal's face clearly. His eye patch was gone and he had a cut below his left eye. There were splatters of blood on his face that Baralai wondered if were his or not. "We've all ready lost three guys." Gippal started again. He tried standing up and groaned loudly at the pain. Baralai wrapped and arm around his waist and placed Gippal's left arm around his neck. He carefully stood up with his friend weakly doing the same. "We're going to... blow this, thing, up." Gippal said in between breaths. "We tried to get people out of here so they wouldn't get hurt; they all said they would fight till the end. I don't get why though. This isn't some important battle. There's nothing needed to be proven here."

"You're here." Baralai said, watching the scene.

"Huh?" Gippal questioned.

"Maybe it's because you're here. You're the leader of the Machine Faction. They want to prove that what you've started is a very useful thing." Baralai explained. He then looked at his friend. "If you're okay, why were you just laying there?"

"I thought it was too late. That I was just goanna die. I just gave up." he said shaking his head in disappointment.

"That doesn't sound like you." Baralai said with a sad chuckle.

"Huh, yeah? Well this is a lot like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Making idle chat in the middle of a battle. Reminds me of when we first met-"

**"DRA SECCEMA! (THE MISSILE!)"** Gippal turned quickly and pushed Baralai to the ground and climbed on top of him. He shielded Baralai's body with his own the best he could as a missile shot across the sky and hit the giant machina fiend. An explosion sounded as the machina and missile connected. Baralai saw the sky light up then go dark. The smell of smoke and the sound of metal and debris falling to the ground came next. Gippal slowly opened his left eye and looked at the shocked Baralai underneath him. It was then that they both noticed how close their faces were. Baralai turned a pale shade of pink and Gippal chuckled nervously. He then turned his head a little to see the damage. If they were lucky a lightening rod didn't get in the way of the shot. If they were really lucky, the machina was down and out and they could all head back to Djose Temple and get medical help. He grunted in pain at turning to far and brought his head down only to hit foreheads with Baralai.

"Ah, **tysh ed! (Damn it!)" **Gippal swore moving a hand to rub his forehead. Baralai did the same, minus the swear word, and carefully sat up, helping Gippal along the way. In the end it was Gippal sitting in Baralai's lap while Baralai looked around at the rubble of the machina. There were bodies all over the ground but most of them were getting up and helping others.

"You protected me?" Baralai asked Gippal who currently had his head on the others shoulder.

"Ah, yeah." He said exhaling a held breath.

"You move fast for someone who's injured." Baralai chuckled. Gippal turned his face so his mouth was buried in Baralai's shoulder. He said something but it was muffled by the clothing. "What?" Baralai asked chuckling again. Gippal turned his head slightly so Baralai could hear him.

"I said you have no idea how much that hurt." Baralai laughed a little. "Ow, stop laughing will ya!" Gippal weakly complained.

"Hm," Baralai nodded. "Sorry." Gippal shook his head and smiled.

"You apologize for the dumbest stuff."

"Oh, s- uh I mean, mm." Gippal chuckled at Baralai's awkwardness then cringed at the pain in his chest. He carefully pushed himself away from Baralai and looked at his chest. His shirt was cut and there was a cut going across his chest. His blood had stained the lower half of his shirt and parts of Baralai's own clothing.

"Ah, that's not, too good." Gippal said frowning. "I need to get up." Baralai nodded and after a few difficult and painful minutes managed to get him and Gippal standing. They were in the same position as before the missile hit.

Gippal looked around the area and took in the sight.

"Machina, destroyed. Al Bhed, mostly injured. Me," he looked himself over. "A bloodied up mess."

"Gippal!"

"Great..."

"GIPPAL! Are you crazy you could have killed us all!" Gippal ignored the high pitch voice he had come to love and hate.

"Don't turn around." He said to Baralai.

"But,"

"Just don't. Maybe if we ignore her she'll leave."

"HEY!" Yelled the obnoxious voice in Gippal's ear.

"OW!" Gippal yelled back. **"Fryd dra ramm? (What the hell?)" **Baralai looked over his shoulder to see Rikku, Yuna and Paine standing behind him and Gippal.

"Ah, Lady Yuna!" Baralai exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah and the brat! Let's go." Gippal leaned forward and hissed in pain.

**"Dryd'c fryd oui kad oui telg! (That's what you get you dick!)" **Rikku yelled at Gippal.

**"FRYD TET OUI CYO!? (WHAT DID YOU SAY!?)"** Gippal yelled back at her, looking over his and Baralai's shoulder in the process. Quickly after his yelling though he groaned in pain again.

"Gippal stop it! You're hurt!" Baralai scolded.

"Ah is it really bad?" Yuna asked.

"I haven't had much of a chance to look at it but it doesn't look too good." Baralai said over his and Gippal's shoulder.

"You can look at it later, we need to get everyone out of here. I need to get them help." Gippal said through gritted teeth. "We made new machines for medical purposes. We decided to only use them for times like this. Since they've just been built this will be the first test run of them." Gippal explained while pulling out a small communicator out of his pocket. "**Pnehk dra AJ'c ib. (Bring the EV's up.)**" He spoke into it. A few seconds later Al Bhed on large machines rode up. "Rikku I need you tell them all to put everyone on the EV's. We're going back to Djose for medical help."

"Gippal Djose is way too far!" Baralai exclaimed. "Some might not make it..."

"Then where do we go? I have to hurry!"

"Bevelle."

"Baralai, not everyone likes us as much as you do." Gippal chuckled then groaned.

"It doesn't matter. I can get you all help." Gippal was quiet a few seconds then gritted his teeth as another wave of pain hit him.

"**Cred! (Shit!)** Rikku! Bevelle then! Just yell what I said!" Gippal said through his clinched teeth. "Baralai, let's go. Over there." He motioned to the closest machine and they slowly walked over as Rikku shouted out the orders Gippal had given. Once Baralai, Gippal and the other Al Bhed were on the machines Gippal called Rikku over.

"Yo, Cid's girl! Do me a favor will you?" He started. "You three come with us to Bevelle?"

"Why?" Rikku asked.

"If Yuna was there and she supported us needing medical help, I'm sure Yevon would take care of us."

"Come on Yunie! We gotta help them!" Rikku begged Yuna.

"Right!" Yuna said. She turned to Paine, who nodded.

"Thanks, there's still room on here if you want to ride there." Gippal informed. The three women jumped on the machine and headed towards Bevelle.

On the way Gippal would occasionally compliment himself on his success of the EV's however the compliment would soon be interrupted by a groan or moan of pain. Gippal was lent against Baralai panting as he had just gotten over another wave of pain.

"This, sucks." Gippal complained.

"I don't mean to make things worse but, we all might catch a cold since we were all in the rain for so long." Baralai informed.

"Ah, thanks buddy. Always there with the good news huh?" Gippal said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Baralai said with a small smile. Gippal looked at him and frowned. He closed most of the distance between him and his friend and began scolding him.

"Stop apologizing for dumb stuff!" He chuckled then dropped his head on Baralai's shoulder as his pain returned. Baralai felt Gippal's forehead with the back of his hand and felt his neck for Gippal's pulse. It was still strong but he seemed like he was in so much pain. Baralai looked around him to see if he could tell where they were. Very close.

"Not much longer. We're almost there." Baralai said looking to his shoulder where his friend still had his head. Gippal moaned in response and gave a small nod.

The rest of the trip went by quickly considering there was nearly nothing left to it. Everyone got out quickly and carefully and Baralai led them all to the entrance of a great building. Many New Yevon followers rushed up to greet Baralai but Baralai stopped them.

"Hurry! These people need help!" Baralai yelled.

"Sir, there's blood on you! Are you alright!?" One man questioned.

"It's not mine! Now hurry they need help now! Prepare all rooms and aids!" Baralai demanded.

"But sir, they're-" A man began

"Lady Yuna believes they need help as well! She is here to be sure that they do get medical attention. Bevelle was the closest place to where we were!" Baralai explained. Just then Gippal groaned loudly as a wave of pain hit him.

"Please, hurry!" Yuna exclaimed. People began running around at full speed trying to prepare rooms and gathering all the aids they could. Baralai took Gippal to a room he had requested no one else use until his patient was okay. Once in the room Baralai closed and locked the door and set Gippal on a table similar to that of a medical one. Gippal looked down at his shirt then took off his gloves. Baralai came over with a pair of scissors and carefully tugged the bloody shirt away from Gippal's chest.

"Ah! That's feels gross..." Gippal complained

"Sorry it won't-"

"Stop saying sorry!"

"Ah, right." Baralai cut the shirt down the middle and helped Gippal take it off. He set the scissors aside and looked Gippal's wound over. He looked at Gippal's back and noticed a few cuts on it. He grabbed some gauze and started cleaning the blood away. While Baralai was working Gippal almost fell of the table. Since Baralai was working on Gippal's front he was able to catch him before he fell.

"Are you okay?" He exclaimed.

"Ah, don't worry! Just kinda dozed off for a sec." Gippal said sitting back up and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I said it's fine, just do your thing!" Baralai nodded and continued on with the task at hand. He finished cleaning up the blood on the cuts and moved to get medicine and more gauze. He moved to Gippal's back and got the medicine prepared.

"Just don't fall asleep." Baralai warned

"You might not wake up." Gippal mumbled.

"Gippal!" Baralai said in disbelief.

"What, it's true."

"Don't say things like that!" It was quiet for a moment as Gippal thought about how his words might have hurt his friend.

"Sorry. You know I don't mean it." Baralai sighed and moved on. He placed a towel down on the table so Gippal could lie down and not worry about the blood. Baralai helped him with lying down then got more gauze and medicine to take care of the cut on his chest.

"This might sting a little." He warned. He gently tapped the medicine covered gauze on Gippal's chest. He didn't get to far before Gippal started swearing.

"**CRED! (SHIT!)** What is that!?"

"It's medicine. I told you it might sting a little."

"Yeah but you didn't say it would burn like Ifrit's fires!" Baralai chuckled then remembered about the cut.

"I'm sorry but-" Baralai was cut off by flick to the nose. "Why did you do that?" He asked Gippal, rubbing his nose.

"You said sorry again." Gippal said with a smile. He was holding a hand over his chest and his face showed pain.

"Gippal I have to hurry so I can help you."

"Right, right, more pain. Go ahead." Baralai continued putting the medicine on Gippal's chest then put a temporary bandage over it.

"I'll help you flip to your stomach so I can work on your back." He informed. He first helped Gippal sit up then got a new towel for the table. It was hard to get Gippal to get anywhere near the required position to even try lying down. He was afraid his cut would hurt too bad if he laid down on it.

"Gippal it'll be okay, I cleaned it and covered it-"

"That doesn't mean it won't hurt! This thing has been hurting since I got it and it still hurts!"

"Gippal please." Gippal gave Baralai something similar to a pout and waved the situation off.

"Fine, fine." Baralai smiled and nodded. He helped Gippal lay down on his stomach, which a lot easier said than done. He got all of the medical tools ready again and got ready to work on Gippal's back.

"Try not to whine too much." He joked.

"Easy for you say." Gippal smiled. He clenched his fists and closed his left eye. "Let's go!" Baralai frowned at how his friend had to prepare himself for the sting of the medicine. He careful dabbed the gauze on a cut as Gippal hissed in pain. "Ah, I don't think I've ever been in this much pain before! Even with my eye!" Gippal said through clenched teeth. Baralai started to stop with the gauze but Gippal grabbed his arm. "Don't stop! If you do the pain'll go away and then I'll have to get use to it again!" Baralai nodded and started again.

When the medicine was put on Gippal's back Baralai looked at his friends face. His forehead was slightly sweaty. Baralai then noticed the cut on his face and remembered he hadn't put medicine on it. He also noticed dry blood on Gippal's face from where the cut had started bleeding again. Baralai sighed and grabbed a cloth.

"You're okay, right?" He asked Gippal as he wet the cloth in a nearby container of cool water.

"Ah," was the only response he got.

"I don't want to make things worse but you're going to have to sit up again so I can wrap your wounds. You're chest should be okay. I still have to put medicine on the cut on your face too." Baralai explained.

"Ugh..." Gippal huffed. He turned his head to his best ability and looked at Baralai. Baralai tapped Gippal's forehead with the cool cloth and chuckled as Gippal sighed in pleasure. He then put the cloth down and helped Gippal sit up. It took a lot of energy on Baralai's part. Once Gippal was sitting up, he got the bandages and carefully wrapped them around Gippal's chest and back. Gippal looked at his still exposed abs. "Nice to know my sexiness is still okay. Everyone can still see it too!" Gippal gloated.

"If you're going to be like that I'll cover them up." Baralai said frowning.

"Now, now, no reason to get jealous!"

"I see you're back to normal."

"Not entirely my friend."

"I still have to clean your cheek."

"Right, help me lay down first?" Baralai nodded and helped him lay down again. He then got a small cloth and dampened it. He wiped the dry blood away and got gauze with medicine on it.

"It shouldn't hurt as bad since this one has stopped bleeding." Baralai informed. He dabbed at the cut gently while Gippal flinched a few times. He then put a small bandage over it. "There, you can try and sleep now if you want."

"Try?" Gippal asked.

"You have a few cuts on your arms. I'm sure it's no different on your legs."

"So, you want me to take my pants off?" Gippal said with a sly smile.

"Don't smile like that! You make it seem bad!" Baralai scolded with a pale blush. Gippal laughed then cringed a little. "That's what you get."

"Fine, help me up again! So I can take my pants off for you!"

"Stop saying it like that!" Baralai said, his blush turning a little darker. He helped Gippal stand and turned away as he took off his pants.

"Aw, no need to be shy." Gippal laughed, pain, of course, following. Baralai ignored his friends jokes and kept his back turned. "There, there all good." Gippal said after a while.

"Your under garments are still on I hope." Baralai said cautiously looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah of course!" Gippal replied waving the question off. Baralai nodded and helped Gippal sit down on the table for what seemed like the tenth time that day. He carefully looked over his legs and examined the cuts.

"They don't seem that bad but you should still have medicine put on them." Baralai set out to getting more gauze and medicine ready as Gippal sighed and fidgeted on the table. Gippal remained awake for the rest of the medical procedure, even if it was just medicine being applied to small cuts and scrapes.

"There." Baralai said once Gippal had all his cuts taken care of. "You can put your pants back on, but your shirt should be thrown away. I can get you a new one though. For now you should rest."

"I can't rest! I have to make sure everyone else is okay! Besides I'm sure your New Yevon is wanting an explanation to why we all showed up beaten and bloody."

"Yes, I'm sure they do, but you need to rest Gippal! It's best!"

"Ah, come on! When have I done what's best for me?"

"Fine, just take this pill." Baralai went over to a cabinet and pulled out two bottles. He got one pill from each bottle and a cup of water. He brought them all back over to Gippal who just stared at them.

"What's that for?" He asked poking one while Baralai still held it.

"It's to help fight off infections and make sure you don't get sick."

"So, a vitamin?"

"Similarly, yes." Gippal shrugged and took the pills.

"Now I can see my men?" Gippal asked. Baralai nodded and set the cup down. He helped Gippal off the table and over to the door. When he opened it he found Yuna, Rikku and Paine waiting a few feet away from it.

"Ah, how long have you been waiting?" Baralai asked them.

"Not very long. We got back from finding a sphere not too long ago." Yuna answered.

**"Oui banj! (You perv!)" **Rikku yelled, pointing at Gippal.

"Eh?" Gippal asked in an exasperated tone.

**"Oui ghuf! 'Oui fyhd sa du dyga so byhdc uvv?'!? (You know! 'You want me to take my pants off?'!?)" **Rikku yelled at him some more.

"**Rao, E fyc zicd tuehk fryd ra ycgat. Syopa oui cruimth'd pa mecdahehk du udran baubma'c luhjancydeuhc oui banjand. (Hey, I was just doing what he asked. Maybe you shouldn't be listening to other people's conversations you pervert.)"**

**"Oui-! (You-!)"**

"Baralai, let's go. I have to check up on the others." Gippal went to take a step forward and stumbled, then fell back into Baralai's waiting arms.

"Is he okay?!" Yuna exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he's fine Lady Yuna."

"How'd you know he was goanna do that?" Rikku asked him.

"I gave him pills. He wouldn't rest and he needs to so I gave him something that would act quickly and make him fall asleep." Baralai explained.

"Whoa, how'd you get him to take them?" Rikku then asked. "Did you hide it in some food?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well, I didn't really tell him what they completely did."

"So you lied?" Rikku asked.

"Didn't know you had it in you." Paine commented.

"Well that's just it. I couldn't really lie to him so I told him part of what it did and left out the rest." Baralai said with a small frown. "I told him it would fight off infections, which it does, and left out the sleeping part."

"Hey hey! That's okay! At least he's quiet now!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Uh, I suppose. I have to get him back into the room now. Please excuse me." He pulled Gippal up by his arms and tried to get him in an easy to move position. Rikku noticed his struggling and picked up Gippal's legs.

"Man he's fat!" She yelled.

"You don't have to help! I-"

"Need some help from the looks of things." Paine commented, stepping forward to take one of Gippal's legs from Rikku.

"Yunie, you tell us if we need to watch out for anything while we move tubby here into the room." Rikku instructed to Yuna. Yuna nodded and watched from the sidelines as Rikku, Baralai and Paine carried Gippal into the room.

When they finally laid him on the bed Rikku plopped down on the floor.

"Man, I don't get why he's so heavy! I'm strong, so it's not me!" she whined.

"Let's go." Paine instructed and left the room.

"Uh, Paine, shouldn't we make sure everything is okay?" Yuna asked.

"Looks fine to me." Paine answered from the doorway.

"It's okay, you all can leave if you need to." Gippal reassured. "Thank you for your help."

"Are you sure?" Yuna asked him.

"It's okay, everything is under control now."

"Sounds good! Come on Yunie let's head out!" Rikku instructed.

"Maybe we should check on the others again just to make sure-"

"Are you all alright?" Buddy's voice said from the communicator Yuna and the others wore. "Brother's getting annoying and won't stop asking about Yuna."

"Yeah, were fine." Yuna replied.

"We're coming back now." Rikku informed. "See ya!"

When the girls left Baralai went into a moment of thinking. He needed to thank them somehow. Maybe he would ask Gippal for an idea. He was sure he wanted to thank them too.

_Speaking of Gippal, _Baralai thought to himself. He turned back to the bed he, Rikku and Paine had laid him on. Gippal was still sleeping. He figured he'd be asleep for at least three hours.

_Maybe more if he hasn't been getting enough sleep any other time. _He got a blanket out of a closet and carefully placed it over the sleeping blonde. He nodded at his work and left the room to check on the others.

When Gippal awoke he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

_That's not my ceiling. _He thought. He heard some noises to his left and looked to see Baralai cleaning up a few medical supplies. Gippal laid still and just watched him. Baralai finally turned when he got the sense someone was watching him.

"You're awake!" He said in a low voice.

"Yeah, what'd you do to me? It was those pills wasn't it?" Gippal asked. Baralai looked down in shame. He didn't tell his friend about the sleeping pill and it bothered him that he had done so.

"Hey there's nothing wrong with slipping me some pills. As long as they don't kill me or anything." Gippal reassured.

"You haven't been sleeping much, have you?" Baralai asked him.

"Huh?"

"You were asleep for six hours. I started to worry. I knew that you would be asleep for a while if you hadn't been getting enough sleep but you slept for three extra hours. That's bad Gippal."

"But, on the bright side. I feel great. Aside from a huge cut in me."

"What have you been doing?"

"It's all work."

"You don't need to slay up late working on machines Gippal!"

"Don't act like you care!" Gippal yelled at him. Baralai looked shocked then looked to the floor. He immediately began thinking about why he did care. Why he was so concerned for his friend.

"Baralai," Gippal began. He sat up quickly then grabbed his chest in pain. "Baralai I didn't mean that!" He said through gritted teeth.

"Gippal don't sit up so fast!" Baralai rushed over to his bed and put his hand over the one on Gippal's chest.

"I didn't mean that Baralai I really didn't! I just said it for no reason it just came out I didn't mean it!" Gippal franticly explained.

"It's okay." Baralai reassured. "Are you alright? You're not hurting anymore right?"

"Ah, no it's gone away now." Baralai nodded and moved his hand. He went over to the counter with the medicines on it and picked up a white material.

"Here, it's a shirt. I also got you a new-"

"Eye patch!" Gippal sang out. Baralai laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Gippal put the eye patch on and looked the shirt over. He began to put it on but stopped when Baralai asked him a question.

"What, happened out there? Where did that, uh, thing, come from?"

"It's my fault. I received reports of a machina being found in the Thunder Plains and I wanted it. When we dug it up, I activated it and found out, a little too late might I add, that it was a war machina. The whole reason it was shut down and buried was because it turned on any and everything."

"You're greedy then?"

"Hey, hey! But, yeah, you could say that." It was quiet for a while before Gippal said something. "I've gotta thank you some way. For all you did for us. For helping us, because of my own stupidity."

"It's fine Gippal, if I didn't want to help I could have just left you all for dead."

"Maybe but, that doesn't seem like your style. Now I've got a question for you. Did you help because you saw me?"

"No, well not at first. I overheard a conversation and it seemed like something was wrong so I followed them to the Thunder Plains. You were the first person I went to is all."

"I see. Well either way I still have to thank you. Whether you meant for it to go this way or not, I need to thank you." Gippal then put a hand to his head and leaned forward.

"Gippal, are you okay?" Baralai asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah, I just..." He began but fell forward onto Baralai.

"Gippal!" Baralai exclaimed. He began shaking his friend lightly trying to wake him up. He stopped moving when felt something nip his ear. He tensed for a second then turned slowly to look at Gippal who was looking at him with a sly smirk. "You, just," Baralai stuttered. "You, faked that?"

"Mhmm, and I have to say it worked out rather well didn't it?" Gippal said, his sly look still in place. He moved to straddle Baralai's legs and nipped his ear again.

"W-what are you doing?" Baralai asked, his face a crimson red.

"Thanking you," Gippal said pausing his actions. He pulled back a little to look at Baralai's face. He chuckled upon seeing how red it was. "You've never done anything have you?"

"W-what?"

"Never touched, never kissed, nothing. A little virgin right?" Baralai turned a deeper red, if possible, and looked away. "Hey nothing to be ashamed of, you're in good hands." And with that he took Baralai's hands into his own. He smiled and kissed one of his hands. He then let go of them and put a hand on his own forehead.

"You're not messing around are you?" Baralai asked cautiously.

"No, I feel, dizzy…" Gippal's sentence trailed off and he fell back on the bed. Baralai shook his head and chuckled.

"You should take better care of yourself." He said with a small smile. "Maybe you can thank me later." He added with a blush.

**Author's Notes: **Ha! They didn't do anything! Kind of a letdown yeah? Sorry but once I got to the bottom of it I was like "Really? I don't think this fic needs anything too dramatic. So I just knocked him out. XD ha-ha!

Yeah so Gippal and Baralai have become one of my new obsessions! I beat Final Fantasy X-2 for the first time since I got it, which was like seven years ago, and I was like "Hey these two totally have a hidden love. Nooj… You can go away." Ha! I don't like Nooj. He sounds like Sephiroth but they are voiced by different people.

Well, expect more Gippalai! Please leave a review and tell me how good or terrible it was! I know the whole medical part is probably screwed up and choppy. My bad I wanted detail and I think I screwed it up in the process. Ha-ha!

**Edit: **Well, almost three years ago this was originally posted. I decided to go back and make some revisions to some of it (and all my other fics). Come to find out the original translator I used, albhedtranslater .com, is no longer a thing. Come to also find out that it was very inaccurate. I'm not sure if they changed the key with the HD remake of Final Fantasy X and X-2 but my translations were either a couple letter off or 100% "what the hell did this mean it's been two years since I wrote this ohmygosh". The translator that I then used as a replacement was also inaccurate. I figured this out when a sentence I put in had the word "you" in it and the translation came out as something that wasn't "oui". That's probably the only word I memorized in Al Bhed (beside cred which is shit xD) So the translator I ended up using, after checking to make sure the translations were correct) was /albhed/ Hopefully this one will stay around for a while.

Well, along with some grammar, spelling, Al Bhed, and very small rewrites, I added the English translations for the Al Bhed sections. It makes more sense and is more convenient to have the translations right there rather than hinder someone with the task of looking up the translation themselves.


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